->''"There is only one city in America.\\There is only one city in the world."''-->-- '''Music/TheyMightBeGiants''', "P.S.O.K."

UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity seems to get all the attention in American fiction.

Is an AlienInvasion in progress? Watch for [=UFOs=] landing in Queens. Is there a neighborhood full of world-class martial artists with superhuman powers? That's Chinatown. UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny? Madison Square Garden's got your front-row seats. A magical gateway between worlds? Look in Queens Midtown Tunnel... or even Central Park. And, of course, look out for the MageInManhattan.

The rule seems to be that if a series or movie proposal does not require another setting (KirksRock, for instance), it should be set in New York. If an original, successful series is set in Las Vegas, its SpinOff will be more successful if set in New York. If you can't possibly get the show to happen in New York, have at least one main character (and as many minor ones as possible) be from New York, and continually harp on about how much better New York is than wherever the setting takes place.

In other words, everything is better with a side helping of Big Applesauce. Unless TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse.

At the very least, New York is where a great many writers live, or come from (either there or UsefulNotes/LosAngeles), which makes it [[CreatorProvincialism more interesting to the]] ''[[CreatorProvincialism writers]]'' than anything elsewhere. Not to mention [[WriteWhatYouKnow easier for them to write about convincingly]].

The bias is especially obvious when characters speak about ''specific'' parts of New York casually (''everybody'' in the world knows which subway train you have to take to get to 115th street, right?), while the entirety of Middle America usually consists of about ten distinct places, or when any group of people naturally includes a [[YouHaveToHaveJews Jewish person]], because isn't one eighth of the population ''everywhere'' Jewish?

There ''is'' a reason for this: the skyline is just so darn recognizable. In addition, New York City is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States (and the 4th most populous in the world), possibly justifying the frequency with which events of great significance occur there in fiction. Further justification for this is New York's diversity. Very close to every single ethnic, racial and religious group is is represented to some degree or another on the streets of the five boroughs, and nearly every language spoken on Planet Earth can be heard there. Although most US cities ''are'' cosmopolitan to one degree or another, New York is particularly noticeable due to the larger population, thus making the diversity more obvious - and the white people alone are remarkably diverse in themselves, unlike in most other American cities where they're relatively homogeneous, so it's possible to fall back on MonochromeCasting and still feature many unique characters. Further helping matters is the fact that New York is a major hub for business, finance, politics, culture, etc., which makes it that much easier to set stories of all sorts there.

It is worth pointing out a lot of NYC streets aren't actually filmed there; [[CaliforniaDoubling more than one California studio (and some other studios outside the US) has a dedicated NYC backlot]].

Compare FultonStreetFolly, the localized version where everything inexplicably happens in Lower Manhattan because it's relatively easy to film there, and NewYorkIsOnlyManhattan, which describes the tendency to ignore the Outer Boroughs in fiction, let alone the rest of New York State. Indeed, outsiders who are aware New York is also a state are often surprised that an obscure place such as Albany [[note]] "Where's Albany?"[[/note]] is the state capital; people tend to assume the state of New York is governed from the city of New York. See also TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse for {{Anime}} and Japanese TV, BritainIsOnlyLondon for UK productions, and HongKong for Chinese-language equivalents. If the writers pick someplace off the beaten path instead, you've got AliensInCardiff.

If a story depicts New York as an unlivable hellish WretchedHive (and is usually set during the period from the mid 1960s through the early 1990s), the sub-trope of Big Applesauce, TheBigRottenApple, comes into play. See also BrooklynRage.

If a story is set in a Big East-Coast Metropolis but is deliberately cagey about whether it's New York or Toronto, that's CanadaDoesNotExist.

----!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]* Is the home to the famous (or [[Series/MadMen infamous]]) Madison Avenue ad agencies. Accordingly, an extremely large number of national commercials are filmed and set here.* Pace picante sauce is made in San Antonio, Texas. Its cheap, BrandX rivals, however, are invariably [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooPBXfnIpYI made in that bastion of sissified city life, New York City]]. (''"NEW YORK CITY?!?"'')[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* In ''Manga/Acca13TerritoryInspectionDept'', Badon District bears a striking resemblance to Manhattan.* Every episode and every page of ''Manga/BloodBlockadeBattlefront''. The not-all-that-modified Hellsalem's Lot, formerly NYC, is so painstakingly rendered it's as much of a character as the series's cast members.* ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' occasionally makes a few nods to (including strips that take place in) New York. Which isn't that surprising when you consider the series having started there. The author lived there for a while.* In ''Anime/TheBigO'', the very obvious ruins of New York City (now called Paradigm City) are not just the center but the practical extent of the universe.* The primary focal point for most of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is New York. There is an exception in the Flying Pussyfoot story, which takes place on a transcontinental railroad... heading to New York.* ''Anime/RedGarden'' takes place around the Greater New York Area, though mostly on Roosevelt Island.* New York City becomes the background of the climatic showdown in ''Anime/BloodPlus.''* ''Anime/HighlanderTheSearchForVengeance'' mainly takes place in New York and now a city state. Most of the buildings are left for ruins by the BigBad's skyscraper is the only new building we ever see in the world.* ''Manga/BananaFish'' takes place almost entirely in New York City.* In ''[[Manga/GetterRobo Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo]]'', the backdrop of [[HeroicSacrifice Musashi's last stand against the Dinosaur Empire]] is the middle of southern Manhattan instead of Japan like in the manga. The entirety of New York is implied to have been vaporized by the Getter Rays explosion.** Manhattan is also fought in and utterly destroyed in ''Getter Robo Armageddon''.* In an OVA of ''LightNovel/GJBu'', the club visits New York City, except that they rebuilt an exact replica of the club room and spend the entire time there.* In ''Animation/GuardianFairyMichel'', an unnamed expy of New York is seen in episode 13.* Every {{Shoujo}} genre anime in the 8:30AM Sunday timeslot on TV Asahi since 1994 ([[Manga/GokinjoMonogatari with]] [[Anime/YumeNoCrayonOukoku three]] [[Anime/AshitaNoNadja exceptions]]) will have at least one scene set in New York City:** The earliest example of this was ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'', where Yuu's dream of going to New York was a major plot device. One variant of the opening titles to the show also took place in New York City.** One episode of the anime adaptation of ''Manga/HanaYoriDango'' was about Tsukasa visiting New York City.** Momoko from ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' lived in New York when she was younger, which is why she isn't fluent in Japanese when she first meets the main characters. Her former life in New York is the subject of quite a few episodes.** ''Franchise/PrettyCure'', the current series in this timeslot, continues this tradition:*** In the 30th episode of ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'', which involved the girls traveling around the world, they visit New York City, something Yayoi has wanted to do for a very long time.*** In ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'', Kirara goes to a fashion show in New York City.*** The very last episode of ''Anime/MahoGirlsPrecure'' reveals that [[spoiler: Jun, a former Magic School student, now lives in New York City]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]* Virtually all the heroes of the MarvelUniverse set up shop in New York, as well as the major teams like Comicbook/TheAvengers and the Comicbook/FantasticFour. (The Comicbook/XMen were usually based in Westchester County before the move to Utopia, off the coast of San Francisco. They've since returned to Westchester.) Part of this was their distinction of living in a "real city" versus most of the fictional DC ones. Teams not set in New York are either the rare {{West Coast team}}s, the "international" teams that pop up every so often, or jokes (the Great Lakes Avengers). Naturally, all the bad stuff for them to save the world from occurs in New York as well.** This is so pervasive that Marvel sells [[http://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Comics-Guide-York-City/dp/1416531416 their own guide to New York]], allowing you to walk around and see all the real inspirations for the comic sites.** Until recently, there was a giant, crowded, vibrant, multicultural ghetto of Mutants in lower Manhattan, known as Mutant Town, occupying roughly the space of our world's Alphabet City. Given that this overpopulated ghetto full of superpowered, alienated freaks was barely even mentioned outside its own book, ComicBook/DistrictX (swiftly cancelled), it might perhaps have made more sense to set it down in a city that wasn't already swarming with superheroes, and the subject of 99% of Marvel's comics output. But, hey, New York is just ''that'' special.** This was {{Lampshaded}} in-universe during the Civil War storyline, when someone pointed out that if, for example, aliens invaded anyplace BUT New York, there would be no one to stop them (or at least, lots of people would die before the heroes could get there.) This resulted in the creation of The Initiative, a government program to give every state in the US its own superteam, with the Avengers remaining in New York while everyone else was drafted to new parts of the country. The program only lasted a couple of years, and once it folded nearly all the heroes clumped back together in New York.** This is also Lampshaded in ''Comicbook/ScarletSpider''; Kaine Parker flees to Houston to avoid Spider-Man and the Avengers, and ends up becoming the city's defender after seeing that it has no heroes of its own.** The prevalence of disasters centred on New York and Los Angeles are [[DiscussedTrope commented on]] in ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'', when the eponymous character is assigned a mission in Iowa:--->'''Deadpool:''' Eye-O-Wa? What is this strange, exotic land of which you speak, o grand exalted poo-bah?--->'''Director:''' [=*sigh*=] Not ''all'' disasters occur in New York or L.A., Mr. Wilson... despite what TV and comic books might have you believe.** Taken UpToEleven in ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'', where the PatchworkWorld Battleworld has over a dozen versions of Manhattan between different domains. ** Marvel decided to promote ''Comicbook/{{USAvengers}}'' [[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/11/marvel-reveals-all-53-state-variant-covers-for-u-s-avengers-1/ with variant covers featuring all 50 states.]] The problem is, many Avengers were born and raised in NYC, so when Comicbook/LukeCage got New York, others had to be spread to other states. Captain America in Delaware was justifiable (First Avenger = First State). Others, not so much, such as [[Comicbook/FantasticFour The Thing]] in Michigan and Spider-Man in New Hampshire.** The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films have tended to avoid this however. While much of the action in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' takes place in New York, ''Film/IronMan1'', ''Film/IronMan2'' and ''Film/IronMan3'' primarily take place in California, ''Film/{{Thor}}'' takes place in New Mexico, ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' takes place in London when on Earth, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' takes place in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-era Europe, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' takes place in Washington, D.C., and ''Film/AntMan'' takes place in San Francisco. This even extends to certain backstories, such as the MCU version of [[Film/BlackPanther Erik Killmonger]] growing up in Oakland instead of Harlem. The major exception to this is ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', which does take place in New York (primarily in Queens).** This is not the case with the Netflix series, all of whom are set in New York City (Harlem in ''Series/LukeCage2016'', Hell's Kitchen in ''Series/Daredevil2015'', ''Series/JessicaJones2015'', ''Series/IronFist2017'' and ''Series/TheDefenders2017'') but not necessarily filmed in the neighborhoods they're set in. Brooklyn doubles for Hell's Kitchen, since in the shows, Hell's Kitchen is being rebuilt after [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the Incident]].* Creator/DCComics averts this by having every hero protect a different (usually fictitious) city, although the two most famous (Gotham and Metropolis) are based on New York. The major [[Franchise/TheDCU DC]] comic book to be set in the real NYC was the 80s run of ''TheNewTeenTitans'' which had the original Titans Tower on an island in the East River.** Superheroes that have lived in Franchise/TheDCU's New York include the Franchise/{{Green Lantern}}s Alan Scott (originally based in Gotham), Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner; Plastic Man; ComicBook/PowerGirl (when she's not living in Metropolis); [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Manhattan Guardian]]; the Comicbook/TeenTitans before they removed to San Francisco; and the original Sandman. Currently, Comicbook/{{Static}} and ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} are the protectors of New York in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} continuity.** Though they originally met in Gotham, today the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica operates out of New York City, their headquarters located on the site of the Sandman's old brownstone.** Even more ironic: parts of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' were filmed in New York City (for instance, 33 Wall Street is the Gotham Stock Exchange, and there is an establishing shot of Lower Manhattan with bridges digitally added on the Hudson River side).** The maps in the DC Heroes Roleplaying Game (which aren't necessarily canon in the comics, but hey, we've got to start ''somewhere'') indicate that Metropolis in the DC Universe physically occupies the location of New York City, while the map of Gotham City corresponds quite well to that of Providence, Rhode Island. Gotham's ''history'' is treated as if it were New York City, though, with the implication being that Gotham used to be The Big Apple equivalent until it was upstaged (in the last century or so) by Metropolis.*** DC published an ''Atlas of the DC Universe'' in the early nineties. This located Gotham in southern New Jersey and Metropolis in Delaware. [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Several other locations have been floated over the years as well.]]* Franchise/DocSavage had his headquarters in the Empire State Building, and most of his stories had a large section in NYC before heading off to more exotic locales.* The Marvel ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'' comics feature New York increasingly predominantly throughout their run, even though the crashed Autobot spaceship is located at Mt. St. Hilary in the Cascades in Oregon and the early comics tended to head over to Portland if they needed a metropolitan area to trash with giant robots. The switch to New York came after the anti-robot task force known as RAAT set up shop there, and several later Decepticon bases were set up in the region. In a nihilistic alternate future the shattered corpse of Rodimus Prime is even displayed as hanging between the partially collapsed Twin Towers.* There is one DC comic set in New York City -- ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}''. DC's seeming hatred of setting comics in NYC becomes obvious when [[spoiler:Ozymandias blows it up]].** To be fair, [[spoiler:in the film version, Ozymandias blows quite a few cities up, we just only get to see the New York bit go sky high]]. * ''Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'' started off with Superman accidentally crossing dimensional boundaries and winding up in "Gnu York City", Earth-C's version of NYC, and meeting the future team's leader there (working as a writer/artist for his world's DC Comics). Later issues often featured the team visiting Gnu York (despite being headquartered on the other side of the country in "Follywood, Califurnia").** A few Gnu York landmarks, neighborhoods, and other features are mentioned through the original run and the ''Final Ark'' miniseries, including: "Bruteway" or "Broodway" (Broadway); "Fadison Avenue" (Madison Avenue); the "Chimpire State Building" (Empire State Building); and the "Statue of Ribbity" (the Statue of Liberty). Nearby locales include the state of "New Gerbil" (New Jersey), including the town of "Yakkensack" (Hackensack). Gnu York's nicknamed "the Big Awful" or "the Big Candyapple."* The protagonists of Garth Ennis' ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' base themselves in New York City. * Mega-City One from ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' is essentially supposed to be New York City in the 22nd Century... and stretch from about Boston to Charlotte in current continuity.* Where does TheDevil hang out after stealing your soul? Well, in Creator/JMichaelStraczynski's ''ComicBook/MidnightNation'', he hangs out in New York, and you have to travel there in a quest to get it back.* In Creator/KurtBusiek's ''The Wizard's Tale,'' a bumbling evil wizard crosses from his dimension to ours looking for a book of spells. Naturally he arrives in the harbor and his quest leads him to Queens.* The ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' spinoff ''{{ComicBook/Fray}}'' takes place in a future New York,specifically Manhattan, now known as Haddyn.* ''ComicBook/TheNewYorkFour'' takes place in, ''drum roll please'', Manhattan!* Barbara Slate's ''ComicBook/AngelLove'' takes place in New York City, complete with ''[[TalkingAnimal talking cockroaches]]''.* ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'' (and it's subsequent [[Theatre/{{Annie}} theater adaptation]][[note]]Which was adapted into three movies.[[/note]]) is set in New York during UsefulNotes/TheGreatDepression; indirectly referenced in the 1982 movie:-->'''Miss Hannigan''': Is that a fact?-->'''Grace Farrell''': That's a fact. It's an awful time to be out of work, isn't it, Miss Hannigan?* In ''ComicBook/JaxEpochAndTheQuickenForbidden'', Jax came back from Realmsend, magic started leaking into her world: a dragon flies around New York City, mechanical knights storming through the streets, and there was a heavy snowstorm in the middle of summer.* ''ComicStrip/ACoupleOfGuys'' is set in New York.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* The title character in ''WesternAnimation/ATrollInCentralPark'' is banished to "a place of rock and steel, where nothing grows." Guess.** There is at least ''one'' place where things grow, as the title indicates.* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'': where else would a story about (anthropomorphic mouse) immigrants from Europe be set?* The lyrics to the opening song of Disney's ''Disney/OliverAndCompany'' borderline-Lampshade this:-->''Now it's always once upon a time\\In New York City.\\It's a big old, bad old, tough old town, it's true.\\But beginnings are contagious there\\They're always setting stages there\\They're always turning pages there for you.''** Also the film stars Long Island native: Billy Joel* The [[TheReveal Big Reveal]] at the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' is that the entire film took place around a water fountain in Central Park's Great Lawn. The film stars Creator/WoodyAllen.* ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'' where it takes place in New York.* The animals from ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' live in Central Park Zoo, and a lot of local humor is sprinkled in the script, mostly thanks to one of the writers having worked on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. The first act is basically a festival of New York gags, and features landmarks like Times Square, the Essex House, 7th Avenue, Grand Central Station, and the Rockefeller ice rink. Lincoln Center, the Knicks, Metro North railroad, and Lexington Avenue being mentioned.* One of the films in ''Anime/TheAnimatrix'', ''The Second Renaissance, Part II'', features a Sentinel demanding humans 'hand over their flesh' in the UN after signing a peace treaty before setting off a nuclear bomb, killing ''everyone''. Yes. [[DownerEnding Everyone.]]* The "Rhapsody in Blue" segment of ''Disney/{{Fantasia 2000}}''. The artwork was inspired by New York caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, whose cartoons chronicled the Broadway scene for the New York Times theater section.* The Danish film ''WesternAnimation/SamsonAndSally'' has Moby Dick living in or near a submerged NYC, called 'the city that man built'.* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': Zootopia's aesthetic takes a lot from New York, with subways, NYPD-esque badges, etc. [[note]] The lost subway station beneath the Natural History Museum also has shades of either the sealed City Hall IRT Station or the lost Beach Pneumatic Railway, and New York's 81st Street Station has direct access to the Natural History Museum.[[/note]] Though it also has areas to resemble certain animals' environments. [[spoiler: It also takes a lot of the complicated racial politics of a very diverse cosmopolitan city with a police force profiling certain minorities under the assumption that they are naturally more dangerous.]] However, many Californians will tell you that Judy Hops's first view of the cityscape from her train looks an awful lot like San Francisco (a central "Manhattanized" downtown surrounded by vaguely Spanish-looking suburban communities in the hills nearby).* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets'' takes place in New York City, from the similarities many locations in the film resemble to actual locations in the real New York City to the first song heard in the movie being about New York.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]* ''Film/{{Manhatta}}'' is a groundbreaking 1921 short film (ten minutes) showing off the high skycrapers, trains, and bridges of Manhattan.* There are eight million stories in ''The Naked City'' -- all of them in New York.* ''Film/TheSevenYearItch''. Not only does it set itself in early 1950s New York, but it ''flashes back to 500 years earlier when Manhattan Isle was pre-Peter Minuit''. Even when the action leaves New York, we just go to Maine - a different state, but part of the same Northeastern Seaboard. Ironically, the Creator/MarilynMonroe character says she is a native of Denver, Colorado - the only really specific thing we learn about her background.* In ''{{Film/Godspell}}'' (1973), the clown-Christ begins his ministry in the middle of Central Park, and wanders all over the (empty) city with his disciples.* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', as well as [[Film/GhostbustersII its sequel]] and AnimatedAdaptation, nearly ''everything'' paranormal -- including the end of the world -- happens in or near New York City.** ComicBook/SpiderMan once told a magical being (who was called "The Gatekeeper", according to Ezekiel) who came to New York that this movie was "required viewing" for New Yorkers. (Unfortunately, it seemed to have NoSenseOfHumor.)* In the 1978 film adaptation of ''Film/TheWiz'', the role of Oz is played by a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Fantasy Counterpart]] of New York City. For instance, Emerald City is the World Trade Center area; also note the five Chrysler Buildings on the skyline.** Strange, because there are numerous cities around the world nicknamed the "Emerald City", including Sydney, Australia, and Seattle, but ''not'' New York.* ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' has [[TheMentor Ramirez]] telling Connor that eventually the Immortals will meet in "a faraway land" to fight for the Prize. ''NEW YORK''.* The fairy-tale characters from ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' end up in New York... because, naturally, New York is the opposite of a fairy-tale kingdom.* ''Film/DesigningWoman'' takes place in NYC during the 1950s.* ''Film/IAmLegend'' depicted the city abandoned after a plague decimated the human race.** This was justified, since the image of an unpopulated New York City makes for a more shocking visual than, say, an empty shot of Los Angeles or Dallas, where it's entirely possible to run across sections of those town that look abandoned, whereas NYC is almost ''never'' that empty.* ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' featured a gigantic monster laying waste to the city.* ''Film/GangsOfNewYork'', obviously. Portrays New York as the 1860s equivalent of {{Gangsterland}}.* ''Film/HerculesInNewYork''. Zeus blasts Hercules with a lightning bolt, casting him out of Olympus. After some strange encounters in the air and at sea, Hercules arrives in New York City. It's somewhat justified by the obvious lack of budget of that movie.* ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'': How did George Taylor learn that the ape-ruled planet he was on was [[PlanetOfTheApesEnding actually Earth?]] He saw the Statue of Liberty, and realized he was once again in New York.* In ''Film/ComingToAmerica,'' Prince Akeem of Zamunda announces his determination to go to America to find a bride. His servant Semmi replies, "All right... New York or Los Angeles?"** Lampshaded; to find his royal bride, he thinks ''Queens'' is the obvious place.* ''Film/LiveAndLetDie''. Mr. Big's operation is headquartered in New York.* ''Film/{{Hancock}}''. [[spoiler: If an ancient curse forces you to leave Los Angeles, where would you move? Exactly.]]* ''Film/{{Hellboy}}''** In the first film the BPRD headquarters are located not far from NYC (bear in mind, in the comics they were in Fairfield, Connecticut) and the first red alarm we see them respond to ''just so happens'' to be right in the city. ** ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy''. The Elven King has his throne room in a NYC Railyard.* ''Film/MenInBlack''. The organization for monitoring and enforcing alien activity on Earth is based in New York and most of the undercover aliens live there. According to K, the 1964 World's Fair took place in Queens so as to disguise the presence of [=UFOs=], [[HiddenInPlainSight which were worked into the fair's observation towers]]. Agent J is a former NYPD cop [[spoiler:and the [[WeaponizedLandmark Statue of Liberty]] is used as a giant neuralizer.]]* Viewers get to see [[TheFifties 1950s]] New York City in ''Film/ItShouldHappenToYou''.* New York is the favorite target of disaster movies. See ''Film/{{Meteor}}'', ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'', ''Film/IndependenceDay'', ''Film/DeepImpact'', ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', etc. Averted, however, in ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' (given [[Creator/RolandEmmerich the director]] made ''Independence Day'', ''The Day After Tomorrow'' and ''Film/{{Godzilla 1998}}'', that's enough of NYC in a career...).* The hero of the ''Franchise/DieHard'' movies is a New York cop. The [[Film/DieHardWithAVengeance third movie]] is the only one that takes place there, though.* In ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'', Godzilla shows up in the Hudson to give the city what for after the Kilaaks mind-control him and all the other kaiju.* ''Film/{{Hitch}}'' is about a New York love doctor.* ''Film/QTheWingedSerpent'' shows that when an ancient Mesoamerican serpent-god is resurrected by a resumption of prayer and human sacrifice in his name, where else would he return than New York City, not, for example, Mexico City!* Earlier Creator/WoodyAllen movies, period. Nowadays he seems to shoot exclusively in Europe, but earlier on, from the 1970s until the early 2000s, shooting in New York was one of his trademarks.** There is even a film called ''Film/NewYorkStories'', where Creator/WoodyAllen, Creator/FrancisFordCoppola and Creator/MartinScorsese each film a segment with only one thing in common: New York as the centre of location.* The gateway thing is played with in ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'': Those who enter [[spoiler:the mind of John Malkovich]] find themselves teleported to the New Jersey Turnpike after ten minutes.* ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' started off in NYC, then jumped to AnotherDimension where the only city on the mostly-desert parallel Earth is a Manhattan analogue called "Dinohattan."* Creator/KingVidor's 1928 film ''Film/TheCrowd'', including a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ivu5bhZ6jY&feature=related memorable sequence]] when the protagonist first arrives which highlights the film's theme of urban alienation.* Buddy (Will Ferrell) in ''Film/{{Elf}}'' finds out his real dad lives in, naturally, Manhattan, and works in the Empire State Building, leading to many FishOutOfWater moments.* The 2008 remake of ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill2008'' is set in New York, even though the original was set in Washington D.C.* The iconic climax of ''Film/KingKong'' is of Kong climbing the Empire State Building (in the [[Film/KingKong1933 1933]] and [[Film/KingKong2005 2005]] versions), and the World Trade Center (in the [[Film/KingKong1976 1976 version]]).* ''Film/EndOfDays'' starring Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger takes this trope to new heights. The film's basic premise is that the apocalypse would come at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve in the year 1999... but only after the ball drops in Times Square. It even gets a LampshadeHanging:-->"So, the Prince of Darkness wants to conquer the Earth, but has to wait until an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve? Is this Eastern time?"* The Coen brothers' ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'', a period piece (1958-59) screwball comedy, takes place here.* ''Film/{{Hamlet 2}}'' and ''Film/RealWomenHaveCurves'' both end with the protagonists going to NYC.* ''Film/DeathWish'', ''[[Film/DeathWish Death Wish 3]]'' and ''[[Film/DeathWish Death Wish V]]'' take place in NYC.* In ''Film/TheSorcerersApprentice'', an ancient disciple of Myth/{{Merlin}}, his [[SealedEvilInACan recently-unsealed rival]], and TheChosenOne to defeat Morgana le Faye all happen to meet up in Manhattan.* ''It's All About Love'' by Thomas Vinteberg takes place in Manhattan. Although it's mostly shot in Scandinavia.* In ''Film/ASimpleWish'', the meeting place for the annual convention of the North American Fairy Godmothers Association is in Manhattan. In fact it's just down 82nd Street from the Metropolitan.* ''Film/KillersKiss'' was shot around New York. Most notable for the scenes shot in the beautiful old Penn Station, which was demolished a decade later.* The ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''-featured Cold War film ''Film/RocketAttackUSA'' ends with New York getting demolished by Soviet nukes.--->'''Crow:''' They turned the Big Apple into applesauce!* Creator/SpikeLee's ''Film/{{Crooklyn}}''** ''Film/DoTheRightThing''** ''Film/InsideMan''* ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork''. Stereotypes, stereotypes and nothing else...* ''Film/ThePaper'' is set in New York, and could only ever be set in New York. Check the quotes page.* ''Literature/TrixieBelden and the Mystery of the Blinking Eye'' takes place in New York, and mentions many of its famous landmarks.* The original ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'' was set in small town America but the sequel, ''Film/Gremlins2TheNewBatch'' takes place in New York (and features a stand-in for Donald Trump).* The live-action film adaptation of ''Film/TheSmurfs'' involved the Smurfs being transported through a portal from a medieval forest into modern day Central Park.* ''Film/BrightLightsBigCity''* ''Film/SoylentGreen'' is in a CrapsackWorld future New York City.* ''Film/TheTimeMachine2002'' moved the location of the story from London to New York because...no reason.* The climax of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' takes place mostly in the area around Grand Central Station and the Metlife building, which is replaced by a tower owned by Stark Enterprises. And yes, it gets wrecked hard. [[spoiler:There's a certain scene with Thor on top of the Chrysler Building conjuring up lightning against some Chitauri, and another with a flying alien creature crashing into Grand Central Terminal.]] It's location here is fully justified as [[spoiler:Loki needed the power source of the Stark building for his plan to work, and he deliberately chose New York because he wanted a big show.]]** By contrast, though, the rest of the movies in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse make an effort to avert the trope, considering how much the mainstream Franchise/MarvelUniverse exemplifies it (see Comics tab). The ''Film/IronMan'' films move Tony Stark's main residence to Los Angeles (with much of the third film being set in Tennessee and Miami), the portions of ''Film/{{Thor}}'' set on Earth take place entirely in New Mexico, London is the primary Earth location of ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', the bulk of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' takes place in Europe during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' takes place in Washington D.C.** Other MCU movies that proeminently feature New York are ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' (climax is in Harlem), ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'' (half in Asia, half in the city where Stephen Strange lives\works and the Sanctum Santorum is located) and ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' (that's one hero that couldn't be taken elsewhere).* Creator/OliverStone's ''Film/WallStreet'' and [[Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps its sequel]], set in and around the financial district in Midtown Manhattan.* ''Film/KeepingTheFaith'' is set in Manhattan and used locations on the Upper West Side.* ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' happens in a virtually unrecognizable New York State. What remains of the Empire State Building is a plot-important location.* The ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' and its reboot, ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' each take place in New York City.* ''Film/TheOtherWoman'' is set in New York and features Central Park as a backdrop for many of the scenes.* A justifiable location for a meeting of Heads of State in ''[[Film/XMen1 X-Men]]'', as it is the home of the U.N.* The setting of ''Film/Sharknado2TheSecondOne''. They got stuff for weapons in Times Square, the Statue of Liberty got her head knocked off, and Fin ate a slice of New York pizza at the end.* ''Film/RaisingHelen'' is set in New York and some of the plot revolves around the New York lifestyle. She even makes a joke about "bridge and tunnel" which makes no sense to us non-New Yorkers. * In ''Film/StVincent'', Vincent lives in Brooklyn, and most of the film takes place in New York.* The 1986 Dutch documentary ''Film/BigFunInTheBigTown'' about HipHop was shot in New York City, despite the fact that other parts of the USA also have a blossoming hiphop scene at the time. But it makes sense that a foreign documentary crew would go to the most well known American city.* Much of ''Film/{{Big}}'' takes place in New York City.* ''Film/{{Mirage 1965}}'' is set in New York, and much of it was filmed on location. Settings include the zoo and the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCitySubway, and a corporate headquarters is actually 2 Broadway. There's also a scene where Creator/GregoryPeck and Diane Baker walk from Battery Park to City Pier A.* ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan'', although InNameOnly as New York is not as prominent as the title may indicate.* ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' brings the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' franchise to New York. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series has Stacey constantly reminding the readers how awesome New York is. The other book narrators make a big deal out of Stacey being from the city as well.* Stephen King's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series definitely is an example of this. New York is mentioned frequently, and several main characters all come from there. The second book is split between Roland's world and New York. Everything just seems to be tied to New York. It's implied that New York is where the Dark Tower intersects with our world, literally making it the center of the universe.** Extends to ''Literature/TheStand'', where one of the main protagonists is from New York.* Holly Black's ''Literature/ModernFaerieTales'' take place in New Jersey, with several characters taking trains or driving up to New York. Additionally, New York City is where all exiled fae are sent, where the city and all its iron saps them of their powers.* In the Creator/PeterDavid novel ''Literature/KnightLife'', King Arthur returns. In a clothing store in Queens. Oh, and his secret hiding place is in Belvedere Castle in Central Park.* The early [[UrbanFantasy urban fantasies]] by Creator/MercedesLackey were set on the West coast, mainly in LA, but she later moved the setting and focus to New York City. Elves bent on conquering the world and government conspiracies involving magic all seem to happen in New York.* Many lesbian pulp fiction novels tend to have the character going to New York because of the fame of Greenwich Village.* The eponymous virus of the ''Literature/WildCards'' series falls over Broadway. Because of its nature, outbreaks occur all over, but New York is still the major locus of the action.** This is deliberate [[JustifiedTrope justification]] of the frequency of superheroes in New York City or its {{Expy}}.* ''It's Kind of a Funny Story'' takes place in Brooklyn.* ''Literature/{{Bordertown}}'' is a SharedUniverse story about a portal to the Elflands opening in a city that is ''very'' heavily implied to be New York.** Except when it's strongly implied to be Minneapolis, or a character is surprised to discover that a city he knows to be far inland has enough ocean shoreline to support at least one fishing boat. But the geography of Bordertown isn't supposed to map coherently onto our non-magical one.* Defied by [[Podcast/RiffTrax Michael J. Nelson]] in his book ''Movie Megacheese''. While discussing Creator/NoraEphron's movies and her nonstop gushing about The Big Apple, Mike takes a few paragraphs to express his annoyance not so much the city itself, but with New Yorkers' insistance that the rest of America always agree with them about how awesome New York City is. Well, that and the hot blast of urine-scented air that can sometimes hit you out of nowhere.* Literary adventurers such as the Gray Seal, the Shadow, the Spider, Doc Savage, and others had bases of operation in New York.* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' says outright that America is the current center of Western civilization, so all of the mythological sites that used to be in Greece or Rome are now in America. The Sea of Monsters, for example, isn't the Mediterranean anymore... it's the Bermuda Triangle. Where's Mount Olympus, one might ask? The 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Where else. [[spoiler:It's also where the Titans begin their conquest of the world]]. And where does the main Egyptian Series hub at? Why, Brooklyn of course.* The first entry in Diane Duane's ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series takes place almost exclusively in one of two alternate Manhattans; the final battle itself features every tree in Central Park, and ''every statue in New York City'', defending the entire universe from an army of carnivorous taxi-cabs and lost-soul werewolves led by the being that invented Death, by reading a love song for existence itself. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments It is exactly as beautiful as it sounds.]]** Partly justified, because the high population density of major cities causes "worldwall thinning" and makes it easier to travel between the two worlds. (In the early chapters, the kids have to commute in from the suburbs to find a worldgate.) On the other hand, Union City (NJ) and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_proper_by_population_density a lot of cities outside the US]] are denser than New York.** Duane's somewhat-forgotten (but recently republished) Young Wizards short story ''Uptown Local'' takes place on (a slightly more interdimensional version of) the NYC subway system, and elaborates on the idea of the power of places where people crowd together and interact, naming the three most magical places on earth as Westminster Abbey, the Capitoline Hill in Rome, and the NYC subway. ''So You Want to be a Wizard'' also mentions, and ''Book of Night with Moon'' revisits, a worldgate complex (interdimensional transit station) hidden beneath Grand Central Terminal.* In ''Literature/SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish'', we get to see what Ford's original article would be about Earth. In it, he includes advice for aliens who land in New York, as in where to land (anywhere), what to do (become a taxi driver), and where to go eat.* Most of the non-action scenes in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' take place in NYC. Darn near lampshaded in the final scene, when the banker is noting the location of his investments, and all of them are totally or partially in New York.* The events of Caleb Carr's ''Literature/TheAlienist'' are set primarily in New York City in 1896.* In John Birmingham's ''After America'' Manhattan is the scene of a battle for control between the restored US government and a coalition of pirates, mostly from West Africa and jihadis [[spoiler: looking for a homeland after the Second Holocaust]]. A third group, funded and armed by TheMafiya sits the battle out.* ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'' takes place in New York. Well, future New York that is a MegaCity underneath a [[DomedHometown gigantic metal dome]], but New York all the same.* "New York" is the only place name that makes it into [[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/Contemporary_fiction the list of 2000 most used words in contemporary fiction]], at #1966.* In Max Brallier's ''Literature/CanYouSurviveTheZombieApocalypse,'' the zombie outbreak takes place in New York City and features much of the Big Apple's landscape.* In the Literature/InDeath series, both the text and some of the characters treat New York City with a reverence bordering on religion. In one book Roarke feels the need to point out to Eve that New York isn't the center of the universe, to which Eve replies that it should be. The fact that New York state exists beyond New York City is generally ignored.* The Literature/{{Animorphs}} book ''The Familiar'' takes place in an alien-controlled NYC.* The ''Literature/AToZMysteries'' book ''The Orange Outlaw'' has the three main kids visit Dink's Uncle in New York City.* The ''Literature/KikiStrike'' books focus on a secret underground city in the middle of New York. The book is spliced with facts about the real life New York City and it's history as well.* Pete Hamill's ''{{Forever}}'' was about a man granted immortality who witnessed four centuries of the city's history.* Creator/JonathanLethem sets many of his works in or around New York, especially Brooklyn. Or a fantastic version of New York. Examples include ''Literature/MotherlessBrooklyn'' and ''Fortress of Solitude''.* ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'' by Edith Wharton, which follows the lives of upper-class New Yorkers in the 1870s.* In the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' New York was largely evacuated due to rising sea levels in the backstory; one of the viewpoint characters, [[AcePilot Lt. Trevor Gray]], grew up in the squatter communities there. At the end of ''Earth Strike'' [[spoiler:much of what remains is destroyed by a tsunami resulting from a Turusch OrbitalBombardment]].* The first two books of ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'', as well as the fourth. The third book is set in Idris, but the trope is still in play, as the representatives of the faeries, vampires, warlocks and werewolves that come to Idris (which is located between France and Germany) are all from New York City. * In the ''[[Literature/ThePendragonAdventure Pendragon]]'' series, New York is apparently the most important place in the world, and is even visited in three different eras: [[TheGreatDepression 1937]], [[NextSundayAD 201X]], and [[TheFuture 5010]]. It's where [[TheChosenOne Bobby]] is from, it's where all Earth's Turning Points occur, and it's where [[ReligionOfEvil Ravinia]] is headquartered. FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realise that events in all the other Territories were centered around one settlement, so why shouldn't it be the same for Earth?* In ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', the Underland is located directly underneath New York. Of course.* The ''Literature/JamesBond'' short story "[[Literature/OctopussyAndTheLivingDaylights 007 in New York]]" has Bond visiting the city. The entire tale is a description of the place from his point of view, and his plans for the evening after doing his assignment.* ''Literature/MakeRoomMakeRoom'' (later adapted to film as ''Film/SoylentGreen'') takes place in the CrapsackWorld of a severely overpopulated, environmentally ravaged future NYC.* Much of ''Literature/ChristianNation'' takes place in New York City, including the LastStand between the forces of the new American theocracy led by President Steve Jordan and the last holdouts of American democracy and freedom, which the protagonist and his friend Sanjay are part of.* ''Literature/TheMemoryWars'' is set in New York, and alludes to the city itself almost having a soul of its own, although it's specified that all places have this, as it's an energy generated from the emotions of the populace.* "Literature/TheCosmicExpress", by Creator/JackWilliamson, starts in the New York City of 2432, though the action eventually moves to Venus.* ''Literature/ThePowerBroker'' is mostly set in New York City and the metropolitan area: its subject, Robert Moses, spends much of his childhood in Manhattan, and the peak of his career is his three-decade domination of the city.* Lawrence Block has several series whose main characters make their home in New York. In his Matthew Scudder series in particular the city features heavily.* George Selden's ''The Cricket in Times Square'' and ''The Genie of Sutton Place'' are [[CaptainObvious set in New York]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and its first few spinoffs take place in New York City, although this has changed with ''Series/LawAndOrderLA'' and several international spinoffs, including ''Series/LawAndOrderUK''.** The French title for the franchise is even ''New York'', with a subtitle for each series (''New York - police judiciaire'', ''New York - section criminelle'', etc.).** Notably, all ''Law & Order'' series set in New York City are also ''filmed'' in New York City, providing a much more authentic atmosphere than a set in California.* Series/TheNakedCity, which had a TV series besides the film mentioned above.* In the ''FoodNetworkChallenge'' episode "Celebration Cakes", one of the teams presented a cake celebrating the grand re-opening of New York's Museum of Modern Art; the team's assumption seemed to be that this would be worth more points due to a theme other than a birthday or baby shower cake, such as presented by the competing teams.* A prime example of the SpinOff variety (in fact, the very one alluded to in the main text) is the expansion of the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' franchise to include ''Series/{{CSINY}}''.* Season one of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has many of its superpowered heroes meet up in New York, seeking to prevent a nuclear explosion there. However, the series does also have many crucial scenes set in Las Vegas and Texas, and the occasional few in Japan or India.** As at least one critic pointed out, "Save the cheerleader, save New York" would have been a more accurate tagline for season one.** Volume Five's conclusion returns to this trope with Central Park being the backdrop for Samuel's dastardly plan and, by extension, also used during the setup for Volume Six.* Creator/{{MTV}} was established in the New York area and since the move to its iconic Times Square studio it has become even more NY-centric, filming nearly all of its dating and reality shows in and around the city.* ''Series/NewAmsterdam''* The original TimeTravel episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "The City on the Edge of Forever", sends Kirk, Spock, and [=McCoy=] to Depression-era New York City. "Assignment: Earth" had Gary Seven setting up in New York City. However, later time jaunts seem to focus on the West Coast, especially San Francisco. Non-TimeTravel trips to Earth also focus on San Francisco, since Starfleet headquarters is there. ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', spends about equal time in San Francisco and New Orleans (where Captain Sisko grew up and where his father still lives and owns a restaurant).* The portal which opens between our world and the world where fairy tales are real in ''Series/TheTenthKingdom'' is located in New York's Central Park. What makes this miniseries a particularly striking example of the trope is how the opening titles quite conspicuously, and jaw-droppingly, magically morph the New York City skyline into a fantasy land to suggest the crossing over of magic into the real world. The sequence, quite justifiably, won an Emmy. To watch the sequence, go [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcKgcF-FU9M here.]]* The fourth season midseason finale of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' featured a [[spoiler:devastated planet, the "original Earth". The ruins of the city where the crew makes landfall were designed to be reminiscent of a destroyed New York City to help the sequence resonate with American viewers.]]** The ''actual'' finale, meanwhile, [[spoiler:fast-forwarded 150,000 years from prehistoric Earth to show the two "angel" characters chatting about the future of humanity (and Cylonity), while walking through Times Square.]]* The main characters of ''Series/{{Californication}}'' were originally from New York, and Hank often pontificates on its superiority.* In ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', the heroes operate out of Boston, but [[MegaCorp Massive Dynamic]] is headquartered in New York City, and the first season was filmed in New York until budget considerations forced them into StargateCity.** In addition, events the AlternateUniverse take place in New York, including the Statue of Liberty as the headquarters of the Department of Defense and the gateway between worlds in an opera house in Brooklyn.* ''Series/TheJob'' and ''Series/RescueMe'' both take place in New York, but in the latter's case, it's kind of important to the story, what with the main character being a survivor of the attacks that occurred in the actual city of New York in the year 2001.* The History Channel's documentary series ''Series/LifeAfterPeople'' consistently plays into this trope. They do talk about other places but at least once an episode they have to go into detail about what will happen to the landmarks in New York over the centuries after humans disappear.** To be fair, the show is made by an American cable channel, and due to the effects of this trope, New York landmarks are most likely to be recognized by the majority of viewers. And urban landmarks are the most massively constructed of modern civilization.* The PBS-BBC children's series ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'' was set in Brooklyn.* The US ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2008}}'' remake was moved to New York, despite the original having been set [[OopNorth in Manchester]], a city whose US parallel would be more on the lines of Philadelphia or Detroit.* ''Series/TwentyFour'' couldn't hold out forever. After setting the first six seasons in L.A. and the seventh in Washington D.C., the eighth and final season takes place in New York City.* ''Series/GossipGirl'' is naturally set in Manhattan's Upper East Side and, on occasion, Brooklyn.* An entire episode, "I Heart NJ," of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' is dedicated to a series of arguments between the characters regarding whether New York or New Jersey is superior. Long-term relationships hang in the balance as they try to resolve this question. At first the argument starts off as a reasonable debate regarding the quality of life and standard of living between the two before devolving into a childish squabble about landmarks and hometown celebrities. The result is an episode that is headscratchingly [[ContinuityLockout locked-out]] for viewers outside of the Tri-State area.** Though anyone in the world can appreciate Ted's rebuttal to the information that Music/FrankSinatra was born in New Jersey: "Yeah but what city is he singing about? It's not "Seacaucus, Seacaucus!"* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' takes place in New York and is filmed on location. * ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' takes place in New York City. Waverly Place is a real street in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan.* So far all of ''Series/{{V 2009}}'' takes place in New York City. Even though alien ships have supposedly landed in major cities all over the world, they're only ever seen in the periphery flashes as the main characters all have their dealings in (or above) New York.* ''Series/ILoveLucy'' (until season 6)* ''Series/TheHoneymooners'' takes place in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.* ''Series/AllInTheFamily''. An ever-changing setting of a working class neighborhood in Queens during TheSeventies was the perfect backdrop for [[NobleBigot Archie Bunker]] would have to contend with [[MonsterOfTheWeek Minority Of The Week]]. It's hard to imagine the show taking place anywhere else.* ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' takes place in Brooklyn Heights.* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' (which likes to trash the more annoying quirks of the city as often as possible, often with ''entire episodes'' dedicated to the problems caused by oversized parking garages, impossible-to-find parking spaces, and infuriating subway systems).* ''Series/SpinCity'': A multi-camera sitcom revolving around workers at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' takes place in Manhattan, with the coffee shop and the apartments in Greenwich Village being the most well-known settings.* ''Series/NightCourt''* ''Series/ThirtyRock'' Justified because NBC and [[Series/SaturdayNightLive the show on which TGS is based]] really are located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan.** On the other hand, it references several things that only people who've been to New York know about, such as Duane Reade, cornbread from Sylvia's, the F Train being in Queens, and the G Train being horrible.* ''Series/BroadCity'' is set and filmed in various recognizable spots in the city, but from a city dweller's POV in regards to tourist spots. Most notable in "Stolen Phone," when Abby's phone is stolen, forcing Abby and Ilana to unwillingly track it down in the Upper East Side and through Times Square.* ''Series/GroundedForLife'' takes place in Staten Island. It is never specified which neighborhood the main characters live in, though given the large Irish population, it is most likely Midland Beach.* ''Series/TheWayansBros'': The Brothers and Pops live in Harlem.* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' is a sitcom about police detectives working at the title precinct in Brooklyn.* ''Series/WhatILikeAboutYou''* ''Series/MadAboutYou''* ''Series/DoctorWho'':** The episodes [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E4DaleksInManhattan "Daleks in Manhattan"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks "Evolution of the Daleks"]]. Later the Weeping Angels get their turn in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan"]].** And then we have [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E1NewEarth "New Earth"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock "Gridlock"]], set 5 billion years into the future, in "New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York".** Since this is a British show, London (England's equivalent to New York) usually sits in as the center of all alien activity no matter what era The Doctor visits. * ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. The City is exactly that. Its French title is even "Sexe à New York".* ''Series/TheDoctorOzShow'' is filmed in New York. Call-outs for participants to appear on the show usually specify that they must live in New York, or at least the tristate area.* ''Series/WillAndGrace'' takes place mostly in Manhattan. Occasional trips to the Outer Boroughs happen, most often Brooklyn, where Grace even lived in seasons 5 and 6, but the main characters were known for having low opinions of these locations.* ''Series/SesameStreet'' is set in New York, in an unnamed borough (probably Brooklyn or Queens).* The season two finale of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' is set in New York. Since this [[TheMusicalMusical is ''Glee'', a Broadway scene is practically compulsory.** Season four has the attention split between the primary Ohio setting and some graduated students' lives in New York.** The second half of season 5 has ''Glee'' fully set in New York, focusing only on the lives of graduated students there, since New Directions has been disbanded.* ''Series/RaisingTheBar''* Subverted with ''Series/PanAm''. Although the home base in the U.S. is New York, each episode features at least one foreign locale. Most of the scenes take place at the destination or aboard the plane, though New York is always the end of the journey.* The famous opening sequence of ''Series/TheSopranos'', which takes place primarily in New Jersey, depicts main character Tony Soprano driving ''away'' from New York. Series creator David Chase says this was specifically to underline the fact that, in contrast to most gangster movies, it was not set there.* ''Series/BlueBloods'', which is actually shot in NY, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_shows_filmed_in_New_York_City rare for a series these days]].* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is set in New York.* ''Series/HowToMakeItInAmerica'' is a paean to New York at times with two main characters, Ben and Cam, representing very different New Yorker archetypes.* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Psychodrama", the team is sent to investigate a series of bank robberies in Los Angeles. When tasked with having to watch hours of victim testimony, Elle Greenaway essentially suggests L.A. doesn't have any sights making the lead detective correctly suggesting she is from Brooklyn.* The BBC America drama ''Series/{{Copper}}'' is set in Manhattan during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar and focuses the New York Police Department. The protagonist Kevin and his police colleagues work a beat in the impoverished Five Points neighbourhood, but he also has friends and acquaintances living in the wealthier Midtown district.* ''Series/BarneyMiller'', which is really TheBigRottenApple, being a story about worn-down New York City cops in TheSeventies when the city was broke and crime-ridden.* ''Series/TheNanny'' is set in New York, since the father, Maxwell Sheffield, is a Broadway producer. The primary setting of the show is the Sheffields' home on Park Avenue, with occasional trips to Fran's home neighborhood of Flushing, Queens.* In ''Series/TheAffair'', the Solloways live in New York, and spend their holidays in Long Island.* ''Series/{{Billions}}'' is filmed in and set in New York. Bobby is a survivor of the attacks that occurred in the actual city of New York in the year 2001, the Rhoadeses live on 8th Ave somewhere on the Upper West Side, and the Axelrods buy a new house in the Hamptons.* ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'' takes place mostly in Manhattan and exploits it heavily. After being rescued from the bunker, Kimmy is taken to be on ''Today'' on NBC and decides to stay in New York to make a new life for herself. She moves in with Titus, with Lillian as their landlady, in an unnamed neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. Titus aspires to sing on Broadway and most of Jacqueline's material centers around her being a sheltered Park Avenue wife and later trying to grow out of it. Lillian has never left Manhattan until the end of season one and can't drive, and is still hoping to see the completion of the 2nd Avenue Subway.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* Music/BillyJoel was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island; as such, his more autobiographical songs (of which there are a lot) discuss New York City. "New York State of Mind" is the most blatant example; another one is "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)," which is about the destruction of New York City and the survivors living in Miami in the year 2017--it was written during the 1975 bankruptcy of the city government. His songs may possess a few subversions. "Leningrad," "Allentown," and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" come to mind.** Although in the context of the album (''Turnstiles''), which is really a ConceptAlbum, "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" is really about going '''back''' to New York ''from'' L.A.** And lots of his songs contain plenty of references to places in NYC, too many to list.* UK artist Estelle's popular song "American Boy" lists off all the places in the US she'd like to visit, with New York listed first and more often than any other place (5 times). It also mentions Broadway and Brooklyn.* Gothic heavy rockers the Music/BlueOysterCult are local boys: hence the intro on their live album ''Some Enchanted Evening''--> All the way from Noo Yoik City - the Blue! Oyster! Cult!** Local references in their songs include the dystopian ''Joan Crawford'', in which the revenant allegedly Satanist actress returns to Brooklyn as a zombie, spreading terror and loathing, so as to find Christina and discuss some of the more contentious points of ''Mommie, Dearest''.* Music/{{Suffocation}} is not from NYC proper (they hail from Long Island, specifically the Three Village area), but they are treated as an NYC band because they gained their initial fame in the city itself. There's also Frank Mullen's infamous "Lawn Guyland" tough guy accent, which is equally legendary.* Music/SteelyDan throws around NYC-specific terms and locations so often that at least one website has been created specifically to explain these references to non-New Yorkers.* Music/TheyMightBeGiants are New York-based, and apparently their songs are packed with obscure references, especially Village landmarks and personalities* The Bronx is recognized as the birthplace of hip hop. As a result, many rappers make it no secret that they hail from New York City, and countless hip hop songs have been made in honor of its boroughs, neighborhoods, and culture. Even rappers from elsewhere in the world tend to eventually make reference to the city out of respect to the music's origins.* Music/BeastieBoys "Open Letter to the NYC".** Beastie Boys bring up New York in their music pretty often (it is their hometown, after all). More well-known examples of NYC appearing in their music, however, would include the song "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" from ''Music/LicensedToIll'' and the album ''To the 5 Boroughs''.* Often in Music/{{Cage}}'s music. Cage was raised in New York City.* Dead Prez "NYPD" recounts the history of the city. Also echoes the nickname of the city "Eight Million Stories".* Andrew WK's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_wi5IhvkKo I Love New York City]] is pretty [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin self explanatory]].* According to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_New_York_%28disambiguation%29 TOW]], there are no fewer than seven songs specifically titled "New York, New York", including the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqlJl1LfDP4 most famous]], popularized by Music/FrankSinatra.* "Empire State Of Mind," performed by New York natives Music/JayZ and Music/AliciaKeys.** "N.Y. State Of Mind" by Music/{{Nas}} paints a far grittier picture of the city.* The Music/{{Genesis}} ConceptAlbum ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway'' takes place in New York City. Well, [[MundaneFantastic parts of the story]] do, anyway.* Music/JohnLennon and Music/YokoOno's 1972 album ''Some Time In New York City'' was recorded and released not long after the two moved to New York, where Lennon would spend the rest of his life. Partly subverted, in that most of the songs deal with wider political issues; however, a couple -- such as "New York City" and "Attica State", about the then-recent riots at the nearby prison -- are about their experiences in New York and some of the issues they encountered there.* [[Music/VelvetUnderground Lou Reed]] has an album called ''New York''. He also sang about the city's gossip culture in "New York Telephone Conversation":--> ''Just a New York conversation, gossip all of the time / Did you hear who did what to whom, happens all the time / Who has touched and who has dabbled here in the city of shows / Openings, closings, bad repartee, everybody knows''* Willie Nile's adopted hometown is New York (considering he's from it's Crapsack World Evil Twin, Buffalo, this is hardly surprising), and he likes to mention it from time to time.* Music/TheRollingStones' 1978 album ''Music/SomeGirls'' was heavily inspired by the vibe of New York.* The concept album "Snow" by the Southern California-based band Music/SpocksBeard is set in NYC, and was inspired, somewhat obliquely, by the attacks that occurred in the actual city of New York in the year 2001.* ''[[Music/{{Hero}} !Hero]]'' is a Christian Rock Opera with much of its story of Jesus taking place in New York City, which has become its Jerusalem for the main character. * Music/EltonJohn and his lyricist Bernie Taupin have written many songs about, set in or namechecking New York City, including "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" (and "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters Part II" written in 1988), "Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way (NYC)", "Ticking" ,"Levon", "You're So Static", and of course, "Empty Garden".** Elton performed a free concert on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park in 1980, playing to a record-breaking 450,000 people. The show was later broadcast on {{Creator/HBO}}.** Elton also performed a record-breaking sixty-plus shows in his career in New York City's Madison Square Garden, and an honorary jersey was hung up with Elton's name on it in honor of the feat. The sixtieth concert, deliberately held on Elton's 60th birthday (March 25, 2007) was filmed and recorded for his ''Elton 60'' DVD and live album. * A lot of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel songs have specific New York references, including "Bleecker Street." Lampshaded on the 1981 live album recorded in Central Park, where they start off with "It's great to do a neighborhood concert" (the crowd, of course, is delighted).* Music/LauraNyro's album ''New York Tendaberry'' is entirely composed of songs either taking place in New York or being inspired by the city.* Music/{{Kiss}} is from New York (Brooklyn, specifically). However, the band appeared on the scene during a decade when it was generally considered cooler for a hot rock band to be [[FlyoverCountry somewhere more toward the center of the country]] (Styx were from Chicago and Grand Funk Railroad from Flint, Michigan), so Kiss fell into step with a more blues-based style (at least in the beginning) and titles such as "Detroit Rock City." However, the most famous track on [[Music/KISSSoloAlbums Ace Frehley's 1978 solo album]] was "New York Groove," which is a CoverVersion of the song from an unknown band called Hello. And during the group's "no-makeup" years (1983-1996), the Noo Yawk accents became a little more prominent; you can hear them on "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" and their cover of "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You." * Eastern Pennsylvania-born, formerly Nashville-based Music/TaylorSwift released a song on her ''1989'' album (released in 2014) based on her moving to a lofty duplex apartment in the city, titled "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Welcome To New York]]".* Harlem hip hop duo Cannibal Ox write frequently about the city and its problems, and their portrayal frequently enters into TheBigRottenApple.* The Creator/PalomaFaith song ''New York'' describes the city as a beautiful woman who easily charms those she meets and is all-around likable... and how much the singer hates her since the man she loves left her to live in New York as a result.* New York, New York (So Good They Named It Twice). By local singer-songwriter Gerard Kenny.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Print Media]]* ''National Geographic'' magazine did a pictorial on the three most culturally significant cities at year 1, 1000 AD, and 2000 AD. New York was, naturally, their choice for the year 2000.* Saul Steinberg's famous 1970s [[http://bigthink.com/ideas/21121 cover illustration]] from ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' (pictured above) pretty much sums this trope up.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]* Generally subverted, as professional wrestling in America has a very regional history, meaning that although some wrestlers may come from New York or the Northeast, far more come from the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest. (HulkHogan, the one pro wrestler [[EveryoneKnowsThat almost everyone in the world is guaranteed to know by name]], grew up in Tampa and was billed from Los Angeles.) Many of the wrestling moves most enjoyed by fans today (the suplex, for example) were created in (of all places) Iowa during the 1920s and '30s. ** However it's worth noting that the ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'', which is the last major wrestling organization left standing from the old regional days had New York in its territory back then and New York and its Madison Square Garden arena was long considered home away from home for the [=McMahon=] family. Given that the Garden is only about a 35-mile drive from WWE headquarters, this is quite understandable.** Vincent J. [=McMahon=], the late father of Chairman Vincent K. [=McMahon=] and founder in 1953 of Capitol Wrestling Corporation (sort of the proto-WWE), was born in Harlem about the time of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (shortly before Harlem became a majority black neighborhood). Ironically, although Vincent J.'s father, Jess, promoted boxing matches in Madison Square Garden, Vincent J. struck out on his own in Washington, D.C. (hence the "Capitol" of Capitol Wrestling Corporation)* There are plenty of examples of WWE Superstars who fit this trope: the Full-Blooded Italians, Enzio Amore & Big Cass, the Dudley Boyz, pretty much the entire ECW contingent (Philadelphia rather than New York, but still pretty close). Even quite a few wrestlers who are non-New York will be baptized thus, often to establish a [[BrooklynRage "tough-guy"/"streetwise"]] persona. Black wrestlers, for example, are likely to be billed from Harlem, partly in tribute to the [=McMahon=] family's roots and partly because, well, [[SmallReferencePools where else do Black people come from]]? D'Angelo Dinero, Wrestling/BookerT, and Ezekiel Jackson were all introduced to the world as Harlemites, despite actually being from Florida, Texas, and ''the South American country of Guyana'', respectively. The most bizarre case is probably Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield, who, during the second half of his in-ring career, was billed as a Wall Street investor (which he ''was'' in actuality) despite wearing a cowboy hat and quite obviously being a Texan.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]* ''Theatre/AvenueQ''* ''Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan'': Justified, since they were trying to get their college variety show on UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}}.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]* America is visited on several episodes of ''Radio/TheMenFromTheMinistry'', and it is ''always'' New York, apart from one Wild West WholeEpisodeFlashback.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sports]]* The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious in [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]]; it was awarded by the Manhattan-based Downtown Athletic Club from the award's creation in 1935 until the club went bankrupt in 2002. The award ceremony, now handled by The Heisman Trust, remains in Manhattan. Interestingly, college football is possibly the only sport that is not represented in the New York City area, which has no major teams within 30 miles.* The New York area has ''thirteen'' professional sports teams: [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams the Yankees, the Mets]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Basketball}} the Knicks, the Nets, the Liberty]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague the Rangers, the Islanders, the Devils]], [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the Giants, the Jets]], [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer Red Bulls, NYCFC]], and the Lizards (Lacrosse). Together, they make up America's largest sports market. In addition, all of the leagues that feature these teams, with the exception of Major League Lacrosse, have their primary offices in New York. (MLL is based in Boston.)** The NBA and NFL drafts are traditionally held each year in New York.* Madison Square Garden has a snippet of Music/FrankSinatra singing "it's up to you, New York, New York!" that they use in DownToTheLastPlay situations. [[SarcasmMode No pressure]].* During the "Golden Age" of Baseball, New York City boasted three teams: the Giants, playing in uptown Manhattan, the Yankees in the Bronx, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. These teams accounted for over half of the pennants and World Series titles from 1940 till the Dodgers and Giants moved west in 1958. They also boasted some of the most storied players: Mays, Ruth, Gehrig, [=DiMaggio=], Robinson, Mantle, etc.** UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson became the first black man in modern major league baseball when he debuted for the Dodgers in 1947. The Yankees catcher Elston Howard was the first black American League MVP.*** A flavor of this occured in the modern era when the Yankees and the New York Mets played in the 2000 World Series. Alternate logos for the Series included mock-ups of a [[http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/4967/_MLB_World_Series/2000/Alternate_Logo subway sign]] and a [[http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/4966/_MLB_World_Series/2000/Alternate_Logo manhole cover]].* The Belmont Stakes, the third jewel of American horse racing's Triple Crown, takes place in Belmont Park, near NYC.* The NFL has had a policy for many years that the SuperBowl must be played in either a warm outdoor stadium or a dome. Many cities which are large enough to host a Super Bowl (Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, etc) were excluded by this policy until 2014, when New York[[note]]well, New Jersey, but who's counting?[[/note]] was the first one allowed to do so.** New Meadowlands ([=MetLife=]) Stadium is the home of the New York (Football) Giants ''and'' the New York Jets ... but it's in New Jersey. Justified in that the New York "Metropolitan Area" is huge and includes parts of four different states.* Inverted with the summer UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which have been hosted by nearly every other city of equivalent size and stature as well as two other American cities, but never New York.* Joe Namath, former New York Jet and first superstar of the Super Bowl, was nicknamed "Broadway Joe." He could just as plausibly have been called "Hollywood Joe", since Hollywood had by that point (late 1960s) long outstripped Broadway as an entertainment mecca - but New Yorkers surely wouldn't have stood for that![[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* The starter setting for ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' (a game about monsters battling damage to the environment) is Central Park!* The paragon city for ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'' is New York City, the reason given by the book being because so many people die there every day.* ''Underworld'' is entirely set within New York's subway system.* The bulk of ''Tomorrow's Starlight'' in ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution'' takes place in New York City.* So far ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'''s only adventure taking place on Earth happens slap bang in the middle of New York, involving a Rocket car chase that takes the heroes from the Empire State Building to Lady Liberty. Interestingly this also seems to occur in universe; the other races of our solar system tend to assume that New York is Earth's capital.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* The theater industry itself. Theatres are divided into "[[UsefulNotes/{{Broadway}}", "off-Broadway", and "off-off-Broadway", based mostly on the seating capacity of a particular theatre. You can get up to about five offs before leaving Manhattan. Obviously playing in a Broadway theatre means being in the center of the English speaking theater world.* ''Theatre/AngelsInAmerica''* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}''* StephenSondheim's ''Theatre/{{Company}}''. "Another hundred people just got off of the train..."* Neil Simon plays almost always take place in New York.* ''Theatre/IfThen''* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' takes place primarily in New York City. The Hamiltons live uptown at 139th St, Burr lived downtown near Wall Street, and you can still see Alexander, Eliza, and Angelica's graves at Trinity Church. Though all the songs drop references, "Alexander Hamilton", "The Schuyler Sisters" and "It's Quiet Uptown" most explicitly reference New York.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theme Parks]]* Several attractions at the Ride/UniversalStudios parks are/were set in New York, where something huge is happening. These attractions include ''Ride/TheAmazingAdventuresOfSpiderMan'', ''Ride/{{Kongfrontation}}'', ''Ride/MenInBlackAlienAttack'', ''Ride/DoctorDoomsFearfall'' and ''Theatre/GhostbustersSpooktacular''.* Consciously averted by Disneyland, whose "Main Street, U.S.A." is made up to look like the otherwise obscure town of Marceline, Missouri, circa 1910 (Walt Disney's supposed hometown, although he was actually born in Chicago).* Also averted by the two other major theme parks in Southern California, Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Knott's has an Old Western theme and also features the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' characters (whose adventures took place somewhere in the upper Midwest), while Magic Mountain (or simply "Six Flags", as it's been semi-officially known since the 1990s) tries to avoid depicting any specific region (although the California bias is obvious). However, Magic Mountain did once feature [[XtremeKoolLetterz "Psyclone"]], a replica of an old wooden coaster from Coney Island. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* The original VideoGame/MarioBros and presumably the original VideoGame/DonkeyKong (seeing as the [[Film/KingKong source material has this]]) take place in New York, the former taking place in the [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer dense underground sewer network]] as WordOfGod states. This explains the show and movie expanding it to Mario and Luigi living in Brooklyn, and partially explaining their Italian roots.* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'': in the opening cutscene, the narrator proclaims that such an epic event in the world's history as described in the game could ONLY happen in New York City, "capital of the universe".* NYPD officer Aya Brea encounters the first wave of a neo-mitochondrial epidemic in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'', which takes the player through the subways, Central Park Zoo, the Museum of Natural History, and the Statue of Liberty, all while fending off BodyHorror at every turn. Why New York? Because it's fun to see it get trashed. Even the game's BonusDungeon takes place in one of the city's famous landmarks, the Chrysler Building.** The third game, ''The 3rd Birthday'', deals with a mutant outbreak that manifests in New York City.* The first two ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' games feature New York predominantly in bad weather - the first during the worst winter blizzard in history, and the second during a three-day-long downpour -, and the noir-esque nature of the city is [[PrivateEyeMonologue commented on by Max]] several times throughout the game.* Guess where ''VideoGame/DukeNukemManhattanProject'' takes place?-->'''Duke:''' New York... If I can kill them here, I can kill them anywhere!-->'''Duke:''' Time to de-worm the Big Apple!* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' takes place in New York City. TheVirus and the [[ArmiesAreEvil Army]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters That Fights It]] trash the city during their war. All you can really do is finish the job or [[ImAHumanitarian eat everyone]] while you finish the job. ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' trashes it even further (with Manhattan being blocked from the other buroughs for suffering the worst).* The team working on ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2'' apparently chose NYC for the sequel, because it was the city that constantly appeared on the top of their lists due to its iconic nature.** Oh, and it's had an epidemic of TheVirus, with the C.E.L.L. organization attempting to contain it by murdering any potential carriers-that is to say, anything that moves and isn't one of them. DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeNewYorkCity'' takes place solely in Manhattan and allows the player to roam freely throughout the island.* The first two games of the ''VideoGame/DefJamSeries'' of fighting games take place in New York City, with the third, ''Icon'', featuring the city as one of several locales.* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'', the NES and Wii versions, takes place in NYC as you see Doc Louis train Little Mac with the bike and you see the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty in the background.* In keeping with the Comic Book examples listed above, any video game based upon the MarvelUniverse will usually be set at least partially in New York City, even if it's just one or two levels.* The final set of missions in the PC game ''VideoGame/CrimsonSkies'' are based in New York and involve the showdown between [[LoveableRogue Heroic]] SkyPirate Nathan Zachary and BigBad CorruptCorporateExecutive Lucas Miles.* Invaders come and take over the United States, while a plumber from New York rises to fight back. No, it's not some DarkerAndEdgier [[SuperMarioBrothers Mario]] game - it's VideoGame/FreedomFighters.* NYC is a recurring location in ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Liberty Island was made the headquarters of the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition after the destruction of the Statue of Liberty. The player can visit Battery Park and Hell's Kitchen.* Although not specifically by name - Liberty City of VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto fame gets progressively closer to it's real life counterpart with every passing sequel.** Even Grand Theft Auto III was originally supposed to be closer to that goal than it ultimately was; but due to when it was released and, the [[TheWarOnTerror unfortunate implications]] of allowing players to kill cops, driving around in (at the time) current NYC police car paint jobs (blue & white), Rockstar realized that this would go over far worse than usual, and instead, distanced itself from the city Liberty City was supposed to represent. This included using landmarks from other cities (i.e. the airport) and giving cop cars a far more traditional black & white paint job.** By the time Grand Theft Auto IV was released, TooSoon had passed, and featured plenty of parodies and depictions of New York City (and the surrounding area). Going so far as to directly mimic famous landmarks and the current NYPD color/font scheme of their cars and the officers that drive them.* ''VideoGame/SteelBattalion: Heavy Armor's'' debut trailer highlights an Operation Overlord-esque United States offensive on Manhattan in 2082 against a currently unknown enemy.* ''VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove'' has demons attacking New York City (though previous installments took place in Tokyo and Paris).* The second and third ''VideoGame/CrazyTaxi'' games have Small Apple* ''VideoGame/HydroThunder'' has the "NY Disaster" course which is Manhattan submerged in a flood caused by a meteor strike at New York harbor.* ''VideoGame/TestDrive Off-Road 3'''s New York is Manhattan in the middle of a blizzard.* In ''[[VideoGame/EnslavedOdysseyToTheWest Enslaved]]'', the slave ship at the beginning crashes in New York.* Even though ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' and ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' have no explicit storyline connection to New York, both choose to set a Multiplayer level there ("Skidrow" for the former and "Stadium" for the latter).** It does appear in ''Modern Warfare 3'''s campaign mode, as the setting of the first two missions. "Black Tuesday" takes place around Wall Street, while "Hunter-Killer" is centered on a Russian submarine in New York Harbour.* One of the early levels of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden II'' (both the NES game and the entirely different UsefulNotes/XBox360 / UsefulNotes/{{PS3}} game) has Ryu traversing the Big Apple.* Much of ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' is set in downtown Manhattan, and allows players to explore the streets and subway tunnels in between violent encounters with local thugs, mobsters, and crooked cops.* ''VideoGame/TheShivah'' is set in New York. At least partially justified in that both Judaism and organized crime has a strong presence in the real city and feature prominently in the game's plot. Plus, creator Dave Gilbert is an ethnic Jew living in New York, so he is probably [[WriteWhatYouKnow writing what he knows]].* Eight of the nine levels in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' are based off real world locations, and the Empire City/Skyscraper Scamper level is heavily based off New York and some other American cities as a result.* New York is the basis for the Unova region in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. Castelia City, specifically, is an expy of Manhattan, Nacrene City is based on Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the rest is between {{Joisey}} and upstate New York.* Both ''VideoGame/XMenLegends'' have a level there (then again, see the Marvel example in Comics, above). In the first, it's the very first mission, where {{Wolverine}} and Cyclops rescue viewpoint character Magma. In the sequel, Apocalypse attacks New York because, as he sums up, "Now I've razed their mightiest city".* This is where all the fun happens in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''. Various landmarks both fictional and real are even specifically featured, including Stark Tower, the Chrysler Building, Times Square, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.* All of Alex's stages from the 3 games of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' series take place in New York City. Combines this with {{Eagleland}}, as the last one is an unusually patriotic take on the New York City subway. Strangely, Sean also has a New York stage in ''New Generation'', despite being from Brazil.* ''[[Videogame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'''s introduction shows that New York City was one of the cities attacked by the [[AIIsACrapshoot rogue]] [[{{Terraform}} Terraformer]] fleet. Central Park is burned to a crisp with a huge [[ColonyDrop impact crater from a meteor]], while most of the buildings have been turned into rubble. Terraformer ships [[OminousFloatingSpaceship hover over the remains]]* In the backstory of ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'', the Earth (consistently referred to as Terra in-game) was destroyed. The only part of it that survived is New York City (now known as Pandemonium) which is drifting randomly through time and space.* The original UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}'s main processor was nicknamed "Broadway".[[note]]The main graphics processor was nicknamed "Hollywood".[[/note]]* In ''VideoGame/ComixZone'', the story of Sketch Turner's comic book is set in "Newer York City". [[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* The title of ''VisualNovel/AstoriaFatesKiss'' refers to the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. The VN centers around an organization for managing the activities of Greek gods and godly monsters from Myth/ClassicalMythology, which for some reason is headquartered in New York City.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* The ''Imprint Chronicles'' is set in New York, where the creator lived for a good portion of his life.* Lampshaded in [[http://nonadventures.com/2011/10/01/london-galling/ this]] [[Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella Non-Adventures of Wonderella]] strip.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', New York City has multiple major superhero groups (the Empire City Guard being the most prominent), a "teenage sidekicks" group, a ton of "street heroes", and a couple main characters (like Phase, She-Beast and Techno-Devil, Kerry) and side characters (like Tempest) come from the New York area too. The trope is zig-zagged a bit, though; while it is made clear from the few stories set there that NYC is ''the'' center of superhero/villain activity, and pretty much the only city anywhere with more superhumans than [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] itself, most of the actual stories take place elsewhere, and the Whateley students themselves come from around the globe.* The Website/EpicTales series ''Shadow Hawk'' is set in New York. However, the complete lack of references to any actual places leads one to believe that the writer has never actually been to New York, and is just treating it as a generic city.* From ''Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG'': [[http://theglen.livejournal.com/89715.html 665. My WW2 era mad scientist will pick a new target for his project other than Manhattan.]]* Literature/NewYorkMagician: Mostly Manhattan, to be precise.* Averted with extreme prejudice in the [[WorldWarIII 1983: Doomsday timeline]] in the AltHistoryWiki; the only things landing on Times Square were about two dozen nuclear warheads. Decades later, scouts reported nothing but open water where Manhattan Island and Brooklyn were, and charred, radioactive wastelands covering the other boroughs and [[{{Joisey}} surrounding states]]. Reconstruction is estimated to be possible no earlier than 2060. Ironically, fiction set in NYC prior to the war (and created either before or after) is quite popular.* ''Literature/TheSalvationWar: Pantheocide'': Lampshaded by Michael - the last Bowl of Wrath gets poured on New York precisely because it's the city that always gets attacked in fiction.* In the epilogue of ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'', Ryuk moves to New York in the search for [[{{Pun}} "the Big Apple."]]* [[WebVideo/BrowsHeldHigh Oancitizen]] is sick of this trope, and more specifically the constant self-congratulatory nature of New Yorkers. He takes advantage of a ridiculously drawn-out rendition of ''New York, New York'' in the movie ''Shame'' to [[AuthorFilibuster rant over top of it]], [[WaxingLyrical name-checking at least half a dozen songs about the city]] in the process to make his point about how inescapable it is. He concluded by explaining that he recently moved there himself. (Amusingly, so did WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows, who has the exact opposite opinion according to what he had to say about "Empire State of Mind".)* The blog [[http://www.humansofnewyork.com Humans of New York]], a series of street photographs and interviews with people on the streets of NYC. This blog pretty much runs on exoticizing New Yorkers and implying that they're more inherently interesting than people elsewhere.* In ''Literature/TheFalconCannotHear'', during the height of the Second American Civil War, New York is effectively controlled evenly by both the forces of the Provisional Government (the Blues) and a soviet loyal to the American Soviet Republic (the Reds). They get along remarkably well [[FireForgedFriends fighting the fascist Whites together]], and cooperate peacefully afterwards. And after [[spoiler: the East Coast soviets split away from the ASR and form the American Workers Collective]], this teamwork serves as the basis for the formation of the anti-fascist Popular Front.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', especially in the original comics and second animated series.** The '80s series took place here in the first few seasons, but later seemed to move to an [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield unidentified big city]]* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Although it is technically [[NewNeoCity New New York]].-->'''Bender:''' New York City... the city so great, it inspired a casino in Vegas.* ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'': Although the Rescue Rangers' hometown remains [[CityWithNoName unnamed]] and shows a little GeographicFlexibility, there are still landmarks from New York City to be seen and identified, namely the Chrysler Building ("The Carpetsnaggers"), the Twin Towers ("Robocat"), and the Statue of Liberty ("It's a Bird! It's Insane! It's Dale!").* Magical creatures are drawn to New York in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong''.** At one point, there's even an episode in which they need to go to a different dimension, using a portal which is said to randomly appear anywhere at any time. [[ContrivedCoincidence Cue the portal "randomly" appearing in Central Park.]]* The situation is {{Lampshaded}} in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' episode "Spidah-Man," where it's pointed out that since most of the superheroes like Spider-Man and Comicbook/TheAvengers live in New York, very few other cities have their own heroes. The episode ends with Spider-Man entrusting the protection of Boston to a teen hero named the Steel Spider.* They should change the name ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' to ''The Penguins Of New York'', given that said penguins live... guess where.* It's a good thing that [[WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters the Ghostbusters]] decided to set up shop in New York, since the Big Apple is regularly invaded by all kinds of demons, ghosts, phantoms, goblins, and other assorted evil creatures. This trope is sometimes averted, however, when the Ghostbusters travel to other parts of the U.S. or even overseas to places like Scotland or France to deal with the hauntings going on there.* The second 1980's ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'' special takes place in "Big Apple City", a clear parallel to New York City. Additionally, there are various place names that are take offs on various locations in New York such as "Times Pear" (Times Square), "Sentimental Park" (Central Park), and "Spinach Village" (Greenwich Village).* ''WesternAnimation/NedsNewt'': The episode "Newt York, Newt York".* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' takes place in New York and was described by the creators as a "love letter" to the city. It's more of a roast in practice, as they also poke a lot of fun at NYC's less-savory aspects.* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' universe all of the really weird stuff happens in New York.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'''s season finale takes place partly in New York City, and ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'' takes place there as well. Both are produced by Brooklyn-based Augenblick Studios.* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' 9th season episode "The City of New York vs Homer Simpson". Homer has to wait for a traffic officer to remove a parking boot from his car (which Barney left at the World Trade Center) while the rest of the family explores the city. This episode was pulled from syndication after the attacks that occurred in the actual city of New York in the year 2001, although it later started to reappear.** The one where Bart forms a boy band. They find themselves in New York but Milhouse is clueless:-->''The Statue Of Liberty? Where are we?''** Capital City, the "big city" in the state that Springfield is in, is nicknamed "The Windy Apple" - suggesting that it's some sort of mashup of NYC and Chicago.* ''WesternAnimation/ArgaiTheProphecy'' features much of its action in New York.* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' had an AlternateTimeline episode where Wheeler (who's from New York originally) stopped the Planeteers from forming. He ends up in a New York City that's underwater.* Lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' episode "My Homey Omi". Looking for the Shen Gong Wu in New York City, Omi tells his new friend Jermaine to keep an eye out for anything strange. Jermaine replies, "Omi, dawg, this is New York. Strange here is normal." Then the Serpent's Tail appears. "But this might quailify!"* ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'' is set in New York. Except with monsters of every kind imaginable forming a good part of the populace.* The animated series ''WesternAnimation/{{COPS}}'' is set in "Empire City"[[note]]Which predates the one from Sonic Unleashed.[[/note]], which is highly implied to be New York in the future.[[note]]The main characters are "fighting crime in a future time".[[/note]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]* John Lennon famously gave this as a justification for why he abandoned his British roots to make his permanent home in NYC. "If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself."* Name a major American news network. Unless it's Creator/{{CNN}} (they're in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}), it's based in New York. Possibly with some secondary bases in Washington, D.C.** Honestly, so much of the stuff that makes the news originates in New York that it can be hard for residents of the metropolitan area to remember that big news happens anywhere else.* After the American Revolution, and before Washington D.C. was built, New York City served as the capital city of the United States.** Before being replaced by the more central Philadelphia, which hosted the Continental Congress before the Revolution as well.* When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, New York became the only US city which could easily ship goods west of the Appalachian Mountains. The business culture and population of New York City exploded as a result, to the point where the growth was incomparable to other US cities. Much like modern TV writers, 19th century businessmen and merchants believed there were only two types of cities: "Places Called New York", and "Places Not Called New York".** Modern day New Yorkers can also exhibit this attitude. And you know what? ''[[TheReveal They're right.]]'' [[ExactWords You certainly won't find any other places called New York City elsewhere.]]* Call it TooSoon or even BlackComedy, but the attacks that occurred in the actual city of New York in the year 2001 make this trope sickeningly self-authenticating, complete with many moments of going FromBadToWorse (multiple surprise attacks on different locations from an unknown enemy, with the precision of [[TheChessmaster a Chessmaster]]) where, for that day at least, [[TheBadGuyWins the bad guys totally won]].* New York City is called the "Financial Capital of the World". There is a reason why when you say, "Wall Street", everyone knows you are talking about money. While there are others, the New York Stock Exchange is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at US$13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010.** Although, interestingly enough, many of the traders are based in [[BritainIsOnlyLondon London]], therefore demonstrating both this trope and its transatlantic sister. This is because, thanks to the relative time zones, traders based in London can trade on both the NYSE Euronext, and the European and Asian Stock Exchanges in a single working day.* The UsefulNotes/UnitedNations is headquartered in New York City, which, in a sense, makes it the closest thing there is to a capital of the entire world. In fact, this is a reason why the AlienInvasion so often takes place in New York.* Tel Aviv respectively Tel Aviv-Yafo has the nickname "The Big Orange", a reference to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_orange Jaffa orange]].[[/folder]]